Posted:22nd Apr 2002Ok, so I tried to get this answered in an earlier post, but nobody seemed to actually read my entire post in order to find out what my question was. Instead everyone jumped to conclusions and gave me a lot of wonderful info that I already had. Here we go:

1. Will vegetable oil work as the fuel for firebreathing?

2. If I blow a mouthfull of vegetable oil (ie: olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil, palm oil) at a flaming torch, will it burn well at all, and will I be at any more risk for blowback?

Posted:1st Jun 2002I would really like to know what kind of veggie oil works...I love to blow fire, but I also love my kidneys..right now there are like three different kinds of oil in my kitchen that I've tried but didn't work...French fries anyone?Where can I find this Biodiesel? Does it taste bad?

Posted:2nd Jun 2002All I can figure is that you guys are not aspirating the oil in a fine enough mist. Maybe I should describe my technique in detail. First, get about half a mouthfull, then press your lipps together tightly and BLOW!!! hard as you can, your lips should buzz against eachother and a fine mist of oil should spray out several feet. Now...try this without flame so you can see the mist (trying it with water first also helps) You blow like you are playing a trumpet or blowing a rassberry (a rasberry without a tounge). Have a large wick and use a good, hot fuel (like kerosine) on your wick, make the wick big too, like four inches by three inches. Hold the wick between one and two feet away from your mouth (start at two and test it a little closer each time, till you get full ignition, but DO NOT GET IT CLOSER THAT ONE FOOT FROM YOUR MOUTH!!! Spray it at the flame too, not the wick itself.

As to the type of oil, I think just about any vegetable oil will work, I have used corn oil, soybean oil, and olive oil, and they all seem to work good. If you are having trouble with room tempurature oil, then warm it up, I like to use warm oil, cause I can get almost as big a flame as someone using parrafin.

So, to review

PRACTICE making a fine mistUSE a big, hot torchSPRAY on the flame, not the torch itself

Posted:9th Jul 2002High grade veggie oils are actually thicker than low grade ones....but that might be that low grade ones are diluted with something. That might make a difference Arashi, the contents of the different brands? If one is more watered down it probably wouldn't work as well? Some of the really expensive ones are available in tiny bottles, you might want to give them a go, maybe.*shrug*

Daniel, those are the same techniques as it takes to firebreath with regular fuel, nothing really out of the ordinary. I found you have to really push it out harder to aspirate it, and that hurt my face. Therefore, that would not be good for a performance because in a standard 10 minute performance I do several firebreaths.Daniel, if you read the MSDS on water it will kill you. *shrug* I know someone who has been doing this 35 years and still has no signs of cancer or any other job induced illness. He takes his precautionary measures and goes about his work. It is a calculated risk....no matter what you use. I think that is the most important thing to realize. You can use soy until the cows come home and there is no garuntee...somewhere out there is a report on the detriment of soy on the health, and the artery clogging properties of veggie oil and the numbing issues of olive oil...if you look, you will find it. We make the choice to do this, and it is unsafe. Having a large flame a foot or less from your face is never going to be safe, regardless of what you breath through it. Keep that in mind people!

Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted:12th Jul 2002I havent been breathing for very long (probably done about 4 or 5 sessions) but I find it better to be under control and produce a nice shaped plume rather than going for absolutely massive fireballs which can easily go out of control.

We also found some really good effects breathing under a flyover (at a party in Bristol) the ceiling was about 6ft above head height and you could get a really good billowing effect by breathing onto the ceiling. I have also heard that this works well if you breathe towards the floor but I want a bit more practice before I try that as I recon I will just end up burning my feet!!

Here are a couple of piccies from Glastonbury where I did a couple of blows at the stone circle

blow 1

blow 2

We also have trouble getting decent piccies the ones I have posted are the best we have really I will have to get the video camera out at some stage soon I think.

Posted:12th Jul 2002some people can smoke ciggarettes, drink copiouse amounts of booze, get sun burns, eat fatty foods and still live to be 90 years old. some people ge one sun burn and die of skin cancer. it mostly depends on genetic factors, but until we can predict who can handle it, it is sort of like playing rusian roulet. Drinking gallons of water a day can deplete the salts in your body and kill you, eatting animal fatts can clog your arteries. But the minor amount you take in from spitting veggie oil is nothing compared to a cheese burger with fries Veggie oils are realy not that bad for your arteries, especial in moderate amounts, like the amount you would swallow from spitting fire. Olive oil is actualy good for your arteries. It does require a harder push to blow with veggie oil, but our bodies can adapt to almost anything (like working out gives you big muscles ) Repeated exposure to carcinogens does tend to greatly increase your risk of cancer. I looked up a study on parrafin. they implanted chunks of parrafin in mice, and they all got cancer. that is some scary stuff. But it is your life. We could die in a car crash or get hit by a meteor, and all that health living and eating won't mean SH_T, so live it up, and don't stress.

Mark, I do ground blows..the issue with those is that heat rises, and so does the flame.When blowing against something over head, it does billow and roll nicely, especially if the overhead is somehow angled...just remember to look for flamable things along the ceiling!

Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

I hope to get a chance to be able to try some ground blows at some stage but I am going to wait until I find someone over here that is happy doing ground blows so I can see a couple first

I am off to buy some olive oil and experiment, if it works I will be very happy cos I hate the taste of paraffin!! (actually met someone at Glastonbury that claimed they like the taste takes all sorts I suppose)